8 things I hate about the Samsung Galaxy S5

WARNING: Loads of opinion ahead, leave your fanboyism at the door. If you’re looking for a honest opinion, please proceed.

With that out of the way, I just want to say I understand well that there is no such thing as the “perfect” smartphone. Like my mother used to tell me, you’ll never find the perfect woman, only the perfect woman for you. Because, Android is a wonderful mess right now, manufacturers put a lot of time and effort into offering their unique versions of Android, that simply put — aren’t for everyone. Having owned the Samsung Galaxy S5 for a full week now, I think it’s time to stop beating around the bush: this phone simply isn’t for me.

Bu don’t get me wrong, I tried to make it work, I wanted to make it work. Despite my friends and family warning me that buying the Galaxy S5 would only end in heartbreak, I went against their better judgement and purchased the phone anyway. Why? There were only 2 features on my mind: SAMOLED display, and the high-resolution ISOCELL camera. Like a great pair of…. eyes on a woman, they’re all I saw. Everything else? I figured that would work itself out. “I could always put a case over it and TouchWiz is all new,” I told myself. Boy, was I wrong. May I present to you, my list of top 8 things I hate about the Samsung Galaxy S5.

1. TouchWiz Lag

I like to think of myself as a patient man. Whether it’s kids, pets, or the ‘ol gf, it takes a lot to get under my skin. But one area I absolutely have zero patience for is in my electronics. Laptop, camera, you name it. Having owned a HTC One (M7), Nexus 5, and an LG G2 for all these months, maybe I’ve just been spoiled by snappy, lag-free performance. Who knows.

What I do know is that there is something horribly wrong with the fact that you can have a phone with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, software based on the the newest, lightest version of Android yet (KitKat), and yet still somehow serve users a piping hot plate of lag on a silver platter. It takes a special kind of “software” to mess that up.

Whether it’s waking up the phone from a sleeping state, waiting for the keyboard to popup or catch up with typing, opening the multitasking menu or applications — lag, lag, mother-effin-lag. I couldn’t handle it. I kid you not, I was having nightmares that my phone was getting laggier and laggier, only to wake up and find myself in cold sweats.

Is a .8 second lag going to kill you? Probably not. But I paid too damn much for this phone only to have to”suffer” with lackluster performance. Still don’t believe me? See this video here. I mean, what’s the point of upgrading to a faster processor, when you don’t actually reap any of the benefits? The Galaxy S5 is Lag City. Population: you.

2. Limited Internal Storage

External storage is great — when there are apps that actually support. Aside from KitKat making things fun with the way apps handle external storage, finding applications other than games that can actually be moved to the SD card is rare. Sure, you can always root and move everything to the SD card, but that’s a topic for another time. You can have a 128GB UHS 1 micro SD card in the phone, but a 16GB Galaxy S5 — the only version currently offered by US carriers — sucks. There’s no way around it, and I don’t understand how this was overlooked.

3. Touchscreen Sensitivity

No, I’m not saying the Galaxy S5’s display isn’t responsive enough. The problem I’m have is that that it’s too responsive. I know, that sounds like a silly thing complain about, but when you type as quickly as I do, the phone is registering screen taps/long presses I never meant it to. In fact, I thought for a minute there I was losing my mind. Really, who would notice something like this?

I think this might have something to do with S5’s new “Air gesture” feature that allows you to interact with the display, without actually touching it. This also means the phone can register screen presses even while wearing gloves — a great feature for sure — but not when it messes with normal use. There is a reason, after all, they included an option to disable it. But even when disabled, it’s far too sensitive (note: I’ve had it disabled since day 1). A great idea, just one better left on paper.

4. Camera

Woah, woah, woah. I’m not saying the Galaxy S5 camera isn’t great. It is. But my problem is it only performs well in the most ideal of situations. Taking it out on a bright Spring day, shooting some pics of the kids by the pool, it performs wonderfully. Images are razor sharp.

My issue? As soon as you lose some of that light — shooting indoors on a cloudy day, or a dimly lit restaurant, etc. — everything turns to absolute sh*t. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at my comparison photo above. One side you have a picture I snapped with my full frame camera to show you exactly how much light was actually in this scene. On the right is how well the Galaxy S5 handles in the smallest dip in light: like a muddy mess. Not good. In fact, there were many a times, my Nexus 5 performed better than the Galaxy S5. Don’t believe me? Check out this image here.

5. S Emoji

You’d think that having the system wide emoji support in KitKat would be great new feature, but not when you see what Samsung’s done with them. Say hello to the most hideous emoji’s this side of the iPhone. Like some kind of bastardized version AOL smileys meets Lisa Frank, they look horribly out of place on Samsung’s new minimal interface. What I don’t get is, why even change them? What was so wrong with Android’s stock emoji that you had to create these abominations? Not cool.

6. Chrome Bezel

Like many of the items on this list, this ones more a subjective opinion. So let me just say, I abhor chrome. I don’t want it near my electronics, I don’t like it on my rims, and I sure as heck can’t stand it on my smartphone. I thought we left this behind with the original Galaxy S? Whenever I see it, it reminds me of 1950’s future and not modern smartphone design we see on devices like the HTC One M8.

Besides its looks (which I found myself wanting to sand paper away or Plasti-Dip over), the chrome rim around the side of the phone is actually raised, creating a lip around the glass. Everyone praised the Nexus 4 for including beveled edges on the sides of the display (something we also saw in the HTC Sensation back in the day). This ensured sliding the ever growing UI elements from the sides of the display was always a pleasurable experience. The Galaxy S5 is the complete opposite of that.

7. USB Flap / No Wireless Charging

Until USB 3.1, becomes the new standard, it’s bad enough we have to put some level of thought or concentration into getting our USB cable inserted correctly into our smartphones. If you thought that was annoying, how about not being able to access this port until you first removed a plastic flap? I get why it’s there, I do. In order to IP67 certify the Galaxy S5, some ports would need to be covered. But it doesn’t make it any more convenient.

Besides needing a healthy amount of fingernail to get the damn thing open, the real problem I have with the S Flap, is it wouldn’t even be an issue if Samsung simply included wireless charging with the device. Sure, you could always spend an extra $30 and order one direct from Samsung, but why should you have to? It’s because between the fingerprint scanner and heart rate monitor, Samsung had to cut those “little” features no one really cares about (sarcasm).

8. Fingerprint Scanner Home Button

When Apple introduced the fingerprint scanner in the iPhone 5S, for the most part, it was done well. Offering a medium level of security, you were able to press the home button as you’d normally do, but this time it’d only take you to the homescreen if it recognized your fingerprint. Great for keeping snooping eyes out of your phone, sure it wasn’t full proof, but it was enough security for most cases.

As we all know, the Galaxy S5 uses a similar security feature, with a new fingerprint scanner found in the home button. Only problem is in their implementation, you actually have to slide your finger across the home button, not simply press it. Why is this a pain in the ass? Because this means every time you go to unlock your phone, you’ll have to use 2 hands to do it. Once again, I know it sounds crazy to complain about, but think of all the times you’re using your phone with only 1 hand available. Holding a beer, your gf’s hand, walking the dog, eating. Requiring 2 hands to simply unlock your phone is a major oversight, and one that should have never made it out of R&D.

Before I leave you, I just want to remind that this is merely the opinion of a single lonely blogger (no matter how right it is). Also, there are a lot of things I like about the Galaxy S5 that many of you may find more valuable than the minor annoyances listed here. Things like the small bezels, battery life, the Super AMOLED display (along with saturation controls), camera (when shooting in daylight), super quick 2A charging, removable battery, or its weather proofing.

Those are all great things, wonderful things about the Galaxy S5. But unfortunately, things that for me couldn’t outweigh the “bad.” Come tomorrow I’ll be packing up my Samsung Galaxy S5, heading on over to my local T-Mobile, and eating their ridiculous $50 restocking fee. Here’s to the Next Big Thing.

Featured

As a note 3 owner, I can’t really find fault in any of these criticisms.

(I’ve stripped touchwiz completely out of my phone)

http://twitter.com/gamercore Chris Chavez

Was actually considering waiting for Google Play edition to come out, then rooting and flashing the stock ROM from that. The only problem…. Samsung never released a Google Play edition. -_-

malcmilli

Will you be doing a review if the Google play edition m8?

Nathan Bryant

I was getting annoyed from you rant, but these are valid reasons to dislike or hate about the S5. I personally don’t run into these issues, but each feature leans heavily depending on the person’s use and how they use it.

http://twitter.com/gamercore Chris Chavez

Agreed. Glad we can still be bros. :)

Roaduardo

That’s the beautiful thing about these Android devices, you start from a strong hardware base like the S5 and you can build a great software experience through rooting and flashing some beautiful ROMs. Now, this is for the true enthusiast not the general consumer. For the lay person, these are annoyances that would cause them to either live with or swap for another device. Gotta love the dev community!

barondebxl

Point number is absolutely annoying. With an S801 that is unacceptable.

nofearofimaginarymen

Oh the touchwiz lag. So what will you get? M8, Z2, or wait a little bit to see if you can get your hands on the Oneplus one?

http://twitter.com/gamercore Chris Chavez

Right now I have my eye on the LG G3, Z2, and OnePlus One.

I think OnePlus One may be disqualified simply based on size. Not sure I can handle a phone that big. My LG G2 is about as big as I can get on a phone while still using it comfortably.

nofearofimaginarymen

It seems like the OnePlus One will be about the same size as the Z2 but LG really has done a great job at keeping a smaller form factor (when compared to bigger players of android). If they would make the G3 as a GPE with the added knock knock, that would be perfect for me.

http://twitter.com/gamercore Chris Chavez

The thought of either a G3 or Z2 Google Play edition gets me all hot and bothered.

nofearofimaginarymen

If it happens, I expect to see some lit candles for the unboxing or review.

dave0611

With some Barry White playing in the background.

Durin123

Oohh myy!

phoenix_fire

can we infer something based on the fact that you can’t handle large tools? ;D

Chew

I’m not quite what was wrong with the pictures comparison. From S5’s pic, you could see much more details on it, eg. reflection on the TV, couch’s knitted lines. As for color reproduction, it’s close to reality.

http://twitter.com/gamercore Chris Chavez

The real camera I was using has a lot more bokeh (depth of field), so the background is blurred. It was only used to show you how much light was in the scene. Look at the Galaxy S5 picture by itself, and you’ll see that’s a pretty horrible quality image (tons of noise, muddy, colors are all washed out, etc.).

I’ve seen you use the term bokeh in reference to the amount of blur in a shot in multiple articles. So I thought I would let you know that you are using the term incorrectly.

Bokeh describes the *quality* of the out of focus elements in a picture. Not the “amount” of out of focus.

Just as a person doesn’t claim they add more “white” to snow, a person doesn’t add more “bokeh” to a picture.

Some better phrasing for “more background blur” is either “shallower depth of field,” or “increased out of focus elements.”

Tojen1981

#1,2,and 7 have been my biggest gripes about the S5. They simply went cheap in the wrong areas for a flagship phone.

http://twitter.com/gamercore Chris Chavez

Seems like Samsung has grown complacent. They went “all out” with the fingerprint scanner/heart rate monitor/water proofing, but sacrificed on everything else to keep costs low. Bad move in my opinion.

dandroid13

Having owned the GS2, GS3 and GS4, I can say that many whine about point no. 1, the infamous Phone/Contacts “lag”. But it never annoyed me.

Durandal_1707

I’ve never even noticed it on my GS3 until I just tested it now.

dandroid13

lol, sure, it doesn’t bother me at all, but the title is misleading, because only the Phone app lags.

Durandal_1707

It actually opens a tiny bit faster in that video than it does on my GS3. And I’ve never even noticed it until now. Some people really do like to complain about things. I wonder if any of them ever used a computer in the 80s. You wanna talk about lag…

Anyway, it’s Android. There’s probably a third-party replacement out there somewhere for the phone app anyway, for those who just can’t handle waiting half a second for their phone app to open.

IVHorseMen

I thought my s3 was really snappy until I got a N5

Matt

Chris, without stating the obvious, did you try using a launcher? I own a note3 and literally compare EVERY device to my note 3 in regards to performance. I use nova and have tried the google launcher and enjoyed them both over TW. In fact, off topic, I have owned the Galaxy tab pro 8.4, note pro 12.2 and the 10.1 2014 edition and returned all 3 ( thanks best buy) because of lag and a personal issue that they didn’t perform like my note 3. ONLY device that compares to my note 3 is an iPad air and I cringe at conceding that I may be back to an apple tablet. Thanks for the review though.

http://twitter.com/gamercore Chris Chavez

I have a friend who loves his Note 3, but refuses other Samsung products. But yeah, I tried using different launchers. My first thought was that it had something to do with Nova Launcher, but I tried the stock TouchWiz launcher and got the same exact result.

Matt

That is so bizarre. If I go back to Touchwiz launcher on my note 3 i will see lag. Nova has been a godsend to me. I am now in the same field as your friend with samsung products. Only the note :)

PoisonApple31

Love my Note 3 so much, I won’t ever consider a Galaxy S again. Nova has also been a godsend to me. If the Note 4 sucks, not sure what I’ll do.

Danny Dodge

In all honesty – on previous android handsets I HAD to use a launcher and I loved my personalised nova set up but on the note 3 I love TW and I get no lag from it (the only lag I get is in browser / photo rotation and going from camera to gallery which are annoying but there) so I’m more than happy with the note 3 on kk with TW stock.

… that said, a newer build of TW on KitKat on a device with a far better (well, with a decent jump in spec) processor should have no lag at all… I don’t get why Samsung allow it…. They want to beat the lag free iPhone which may be limited but everything it does it does perfectly …

With Samsung lagging behind with… lag, ios being ios and the m8 only using the 4mp camera (don’t care for ultrapixel) this can only pave the way for the lumia 930 to take the market. .. If only it had an SD CARD slot, it would be the perfect handset …
I haven’t used windows phone since the HD7 got mango but I do love their style.

Matt

Sadly, I still don’t have kitkat on my note. Have to love Verizon. But, I’m on a ROM anyway.

Durin123

Verizon will have customers romming for the hills before long.

Tojen1981

One thing that helps alot on the Note 3 is the 3gb of ram.

Danny Dodge

Definitely. .. It a most always goes over 2gb used, so no wonder the s5 still suffers…

Lennatron

You should try the Surface. It has more features then both Android tablets and iPads and is very fast!

KOLIO

For the touchscreen sensitivity,you might be able to tone it down a bit with SGS TOUCHSCREEN BOOSTER from the Google Play Store.

Even though you’re taking the phone back tomorrow,how ’bout checking it out,see if it makes a difference.

Just a read a review for that and someone said it fixed their “phantom touching” issue. That sounds exactly like what I’ve been experiencing. I’ll give it a shot. Thanks! :D

Shea Hamrick

I agree with you wholeheartedly Chris. I bought the GS5 last Friday and returned it less than 24 hours later for the M8 (even paid T-Mobile’s $50 restocking fee). Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good phone, but it focuses too much on trying to do everything. As a result, it fails to do many basic things well. While the HTC One M8 isn’t a perfect phone and doesn’t possess nearly as many features, I believe that it offers a better experience because out of what it does, it performs very well.

barondebxl

Well said, the S5 trues to do too much. Samsung needs to cut down on some more stuff and optimize the device.

Fel Pe

Do too much? Get an iPhone then =P

barondebxl

I will.

Fel Pe

…

earth

I agree with some of complaints but I like the fingerprint scanner unlock a lot, works great with my fingers anyway. Can do with one hand, just setup with side swipe of thumb for each hand while holding one handed. The reason I went with S5 is the removable battery and SD slot – when selling/giving phone to someone else, the battery and door can be replaced and be like new. Batteries lose max capacity after a year or so. HTC otherwise my second choice.

The other complaints really are not that much of a drawback but I don’t care for the chrome bezel or USB door, not a show stopper though. TouchWiz lag can be improved by turning off SVoice and custom ROMs will take it to another level.

The S5 also performs up to 200Mbps on my Google Fiber WiFi connection. I think it might be a Snap 801 thing, not sure.

http://twitter.com/gamercore Chris Chavez

First thing I did was turn off S Voice so that the phone wasn’t waiting for that 2nd click. And I’m sure a custom ROM will take this phone to the next level, but without a stock GPe ROM, it didn’t make sense to hang onto the phone with my fingers crossed.

earth

Can also install different launcher like Go. Doesn’t need root or custom ROM.

tim242

I know you are lying now. S Voice is off by default.

MIKEEEEE

this is why i’m sticking with my DROID RAZR MAXX. the phone does everything right for me and i just bought one on ebay that was rooted before MOTO tweaked the rooting capability.

now, i’m goin’ to sell my original one on ebay and recoup the money and have a KITKAT phone with CM11.

the manufacturers should allow as much leeway for modding the phone for personal suitability and they would knock it out of the park with every new model.

the carriers should take heed too, i’d pay extra for a pristine phone instead of all the useless bloatware with the ability to load on my own stuff.

the trouble is, there will never be people like we are in a smartphone commercial and the marketing geniuses at manufacturers get paid a lot of money to make commercials that don’t show how useful a phone but, rather how cool or sexy the user will look while using it.

np6s4x

ouch, so don’t get both this or the M8 (from other articles read about it)?

phoenix_fire

the m8 is a fabulous device. not sure what these articles have been saying but i have had no issues and have had a great experience in the week i’ve owned it.

New_Guy777

Which part of the M8 is great? The software fails, the terrible design, or the horrible camera?

phoenix_fire

have you even used one? the software is great, the design is awesome (it feels great in your hand). camera is alright. haven’t had any problems yet but i guess it could be better. it fulfills my needs just fine.

Josiah McMillan

And it sits inside a Faraday Cage

Barry D.

The only thing I agree with are 6 and 7.

http://www.android.com/ HyperTallih

I agree only with 2.

Barry D.

Yeah.. that is kind of crap.

http://www.android.com/ HyperTallih

Sorry but this is non-sense you make people who wants to buy it or already bought it make they feel bad.

http://www.android.com/ HyperTallih

I see a downvote, i don’t actually mean this fanboyish, i’m not going to buy a S5 but a note 4

Napster87

I had to double check to see what site I was on. This is a ridiculous article. you really compared photos from dedicated sony camera. You’re nitpicking the design which is all subjective, the emojis can be changed, the 3.0 usb was pointless to mention and to knock the flap that keeps it water resistant was horrible and the lag really isn’t lag. Please quit trying so hard to lose my attention from this site with such horrible articles. You don’t have to be a fanboy to tell that this is a horrible article.

http://www.android.com/ HyperTallih

Yeah someone that know what i mean! I completely agree with you. here a upvote.

http://twitter.com/gamercore Chris Chavez

Did you even read the article? There was a disclaimer at the top of post, plain as day, indicating this was an opinion piece. My personal experience with the phone.

The phone with the Sony camera was meant to show you what the scene looked like to the human eye. How much light was available, and how the Samsung camera requires much more light to take a clean shot.

For the phone design and emoji I stated, like many of the items on the list, they were purely subjective. How could you possibly have missed that?

There’s 100% lag. Whether or not you, or others will notice is another story. But remember, this was a opinion — my own — and it was something I noticed and can actually be proven. Check the linked video for a 2nd source. In fact, do a search on Google for “TouchWiz lag” and you’ll find hundreds of forum posts. It’s there, even if you don’t notice it.

Tony Lai

I actually agree every points you mentioned. I think this is a great way to let people know the “true and honest” user experience. :)
I would definitely show people this article when they ask me about the Galaxy S5 (believe me, many of my friends like to ask me about phones.)

Lennatron

Chris, in your Instagram video you had installed a custom launcher in place of Samsung’s Touchwiz Launcher yet you complain Touchwiz lags when opening and closing apps. You can’t complain the app opening/closing lags when you’re using a 3rd party launcher.

Did you not read the warning at the top? It’s his opinion. You don’t have to agree with it, but it’s how he feels about the phone.

malcmilli

Don’t get too sensitive he prefaced his annoyances with it’s just his personal experience. I don’t doubt he has dealt with phone all lag as I’ve dealt with it myself using many devices. And a lot of times you don’t realize it until you use another device. I didn’t think my evo 4g lagged until I played with my friends iPhone 4. He isn’t knocking the purpose of the flap he is just saying he wished it was easier to remove. If you leave a site because your favorite phone was reviewed as the best ever then you are an extreme fanboy by definition.

Guest

Agreed. Another point to note, in Chris’s Instagram video he had installed a custom launcher and wasn’t using Samsung’s Touchwiz. Who’s to say the custom launcher he was using is optimized for the S5. You can’t complain the launcher lags when you’re its 3rd party.

rick slick

Well stated. This site is selling out, writing sensationally poorly written articles as “opinion” to get readership… great way to loser readers. Especially as a majority of Android users like Samsung and apparently disagree with the author, way to alienate your readers. Fair and objective? I think not!!

http://www.bestmvno.com Bestmvno.com

I don’t think that’s correct to be calling that lag. It is the animation speed and I can make my Nexus 5 or any phone do that if I so choose depending on how I set the animation speed. Please go to developer options and change the animation speeds and update your review to see what differences you observe.

http://www.android.com/ HyperTallih

They should make a better article about why you MUST buy the Samsung galaxy S5. I have 1 reason ready for them: It has multi-window.

http://www.bestmvno.com Bestmvno.com

I’m also curious if it contains the sadly never advertised feature that is in the s4. Does the s5 take advantage of mobeam’s technology to allow screen scanning of rewards cards, coupons etc by a scanner in a store? I have too many cards in my wallet as it is! I was disappointed to find out very few stores in my area are capable of scanning my phone’s screen and thus my cards need to be either manually swiped or manually entered.

Mitchel White

In case you did not find your answer, yes it does take advantage of mobeam’s technology. This is a amazing feature not advertised.

Terrence Thompkins

I was thinking the same thing. I turned all the animations off and everything is instant. I’ve been doing that since I had the GS2.

KOLIO

While this may be true,the typical user doesn’t,or,never will,even know how to access developers options.
Shouldn’t hafta mess w/this to get a better result.
Just sayin’…….

http://www.bestmvno.com Bestmvno.com

I think you are correct in saying typical user won’t access or know how to get to developer options so let me expand on my initial comment. I strongly disagree with the authors use of the term lag as all it does is perpetuate the now myth that Android is slow and laggy. Lag should be reserved for describing devices from 2010/2011 and before, before project butter and exonyos and better processors came out. “Animations are slow by default” I find to be a more accurate description in describing the authors issue with the device. The same problem occurred when ios7 first got released as well. Apple got too cute with animations which bothered many.

There are 3 different animations settings here and only 1 was turned off. Please try yourself with all 3 turned off and repost the differences you observe yourself. If you must go to slow motion to perceive a difference, than it is not relevant to real world use.

http://twitter.com/gamercore Chris Chavez

Did you see the video? The app opening animations were turned off. There’s no point in turning off menu or app drawer animations when they don’t apply.

Also, when turning off the animations, it actually makes the lag more apparent, because instead of watching a fancy transition, you’re stuck looking at nothing, waiting for the app to open.

Steve

I think this is samsung, feel like its still holding a space for the animation.

http://www.android.com/ HyperTallih

That is not true.

ethan smith

Suck my nuts sack

http://www.android.com/ HyperTallih

You’re completely wrong! in this video is the animation still on, As it is turned off it will be faster, i did it with the galaxy S4 of me sister and it was faster.

shooter50

Project butter???? Hahahahah the biggest joke of all time. Projet mf butter should be renamed project sludge. What pure crap that was.

Terrence Thompkins

Also a typical user might not even know what lag is. All they care about is features and thats why this phone will be the biggest seller of the year.

http://twitter.com/gamercore Chris Chavez

Completely untrue. Look at the amount of time it takes to actually open the app, from the moment you press the icon. The phone sits there and does nothing. Then the animation kicks in, and it opens the app. Many times, it opens the app to a white screen, then has to load the app. It’s possible it’s just overly aggressive RAM management on Samsung’s part, but again — it’s not an animation issue (all animations were set to .5x in developer options).

tim242

I have zero lag. You are just trying to trash the phone because you feel guilty for not buying the M8. That’s a camera worth complaining about. You just like to whine.

Jonathan Webb

I’ve always had galaxy phones in the past and thought they were great. I then decided I wanted a change and bought the Nexus 5. It was only then I realised how bloated touchwiz is. Safe to say I will never go back to non stock android. Now Google has sorted the camera app the Nexus 5 is a fantastic phone which shows off stock android perfectly. Samsung should concentrate on getting the basics right instead of trying to offer loads of stuff that is not really needed.

Josiah McMillan

I always go with whatever has the highest specs, SDcard support, replicable battery, and non metal body that my carrier can provide on contract then stick cyanogenmod on it.

which usually ends up a galaxy device, as Samsung seems to be the only company not declaring war on SD and replicable battery, and sticking the electronics inside a Faraday Cage

namesib

Yes!

phoenix_fire

re #6:

Guest

Oh yes that part was funny about time machines etc. xd.

IVHorseMen

Chris I agree with you about Sammy’s emoji, I’ve seen a few times on my friends Galaxy devices and am continually baffled.

http://twitter.com/gamercore Chris Chavez

I know, right?

Chris-Michael Junichi Kennedy

I notice more lag when using the GEL like the video, but less lag when actually using touchwiz…or am I going crazy?

http://www.android.com/ HyperTallih

I think you have a point using a launcher does still not delete touchwiz so i think it will be slower in a launcher.

Targetrich

Just a quick note on your finger scanner issue. Instead of your forefinger. Try scanning your thumb at 45 degrees, works for me. One handed unlocks no problem. Btw might consider changing the profile pic. Wearing Glass is one thing, wearing it in your profile image, hmm. I’ll just say your taste was in question before a read a single word.

KOLIO

You do realize this is a ANDROID/tech site?
How would wearing Glass not be appropriate in a profile pic,or,for any pic?

Yet,you have no profile pic of your own.

Troll much,Miss Manners?

malcmilli

what is there actually to question?

Milton

A 2014 device, and it still lags, not sure if its android or samsung, it’s sad that you have to manipulate android to make it work with less lagging, because lag is part of android, no matter what you do to it, I don’t get why people buy this things when there are alternatives that work properly from the moment you turn the phone on from the first time

Have you tried enabling ART? Samsung left the runtime option in Developer Options. I’m still on the fence about the S5, and have 2 weeks left before I can JUMP, so I’m curious if ART will help performance.

Patrick Smithopolis

There was a ton of lag on my S4 and I want into developer options and turned the animation down to .5x and there was still lag. My Moto X which far less powerful on paper than the S4 ran smooth with the animations at their default amount. Why do I have to go through such drastic measures to try to get a phone like the S4 to run as smoothly as a phone with midrange specs? Likewise with ART, you shouldn’t need to enable it to get the phone to run smoothly.

lordmerovingian

Sorry, but I have a Sprint LG G2 and it definitely lags between the time you hit something and it responds. It is definitely an Android issue. There is NO Android device I’ve ever used that never lagged and I’ll list them..HTC Hero, Evo 4G, Nexus S 4G, Galaxys S1/S2/S3, Note 2, LG G2. And those are just phones, not counting the numerous tablets as well.
Granted, as the phones progressed the lag became less pronounced. First thing I always do with a new Android phone is go into Developer Options and turn off (set to 0) the stupid animations thing.

There is definitely lag and stutter Android-wide.

Tony Lai

Electronics will lag, not only androids.

lordmerovingian

Thanks for that insightful observation but in this case we’re specifically talking about Android, not electronics in general.

malcmilli

you cant say its an android issue if its not an android specific issue. Its a electronic issue as he said. iphones will lag from time to time. Nexus will lag from time to time, My eight core windows 7 PC at work with 32 gb of ram will lag if im pushing it too hard.

gmaninvan

Ever used a Nexus 5? Absolutely zero lag in day to day operation

lordmerovingian

There is NO Android device I’ve used that didn’t have some lag. Nexus 5 included.

gmaninvan

Notice how I said day to day operation? My point is that the iPhone lags every bit as much. I have witnessed it tons of times.

The difference is you have to push the Nexus to lag. The iPhone will do it sometimes for no apparent reason. The one area where iOS still does kill android though is in frame rate. That is why it is easier on the eyes when scrolling in iOS

Milton

Yeah sure, repeat that to yourself until you believe it, all the android phones lag I’ve tried a lot, and they all lag, from the older ones to the newer, from the low end, to the “high” end, and they all have lag at some point

Tony Lai

Yes, just like your laptop, iPhone NEVER EVER lags
I see my friends’ iphone lag all the time lol.

Electronics will lag, period.

malcmilli

“at some point” is the key word. Some phones lag consistently and some phones lag once in a blue moon. My girlfriends iphone is very smooth but every now n then it will lag on you.

Milton

True, ios is no lag-free, but android takes lag too serious

shooter50

Chris, I agree with most everything in your article, but I’m sticking with the S5. Yes it lags. That’s my biggest gripe, but I’ve had all the phones listed above except the DNA and they all lag. Even my beloved lg flex lags, but not so much. It has to be an android thing. So much power and such laggy operation. Come on Google. Project butter was a joke and that was long ago. Time to smooth things out

Marcus Ray

I can vouch for the HTC One M8. There is absolutely zero lag and anyone that says otherwise is either rooted (not stock and has a screwed up ROM) or isn’t telling the truth.

rick slick

Um even the most powerful PC will lag… there is no device that is instantaneous… outside of military and NASA hardware perhaps.

KapteinStein

I have been loyal to Samsung (galaxy s (+nexus s), s2 and s4) for a long time and I agree with you mostly. I’ve always bought Samsung devices because they were usually tough and highly specced with good cameras. But with the s4 I have had it with samsung. It’s the fourth samsung i’ve had to install Cyanogenmod on because of the horrible lag.
-I’ve changed menu button to recent tasks.
-I have to use foldermount to be able to install apps on the meager 16gb
-the cm is buggy due to slow support (not samsungs fault I guess :P
-the chrome rim chips so it looked so bad I sanded it off, now the bumper is white and looks like a childrens toy
-I bought the “black edition” back cover from ebay to make it look a little classier
I know they came to their senses with the capacitive buttons and supposedly “lighter” touchwiz, but not suprised the same problems still persist in the S5. Just not going to get one this time because its to much work to get the best out of a Samsung device both in terms of looks and hardware…

JBrowne1012

Come on Chris Smartphone cameras are long away from being comparable to a full frame camera like the A7 typically cameras on smartphones blow out the whites

malcmilli

he wasnt comparing to the camera on the a7 he was showing yo how the camera struggles in less than ideal situations. The A7 was simply used so you could see the real colors of the living room the gs5 took a picture of.

http://twitter.com/SParKlngCyaNide SparklingCyanide

I agree with everything in this opinion piece, we must have quite similar taste in devices.

ethan smith

How about f u c k up a mate

ethan smith

Trololololololololol

HeatFan786

Well, Samsung should’ve put 3 GB of RAM into their S5 just to counter any lag because the Note 3 is relatively lag free, but nope. Consumers suffer and people bash a good product because of an achillies heel.

ethan smith

Great huge enormous balls

ethan smith

Its still better then apple

http://zacharyparkes.tumblr.com/ Zachary

Just throwing more RAM at the issue isn’t going to fix it.

ethan smith

It will help most of it

http://twitter.com/SParKlngCyaNide SparklingCyanide

Wouldn’t help your mother. Oh snap son! She should’ve pushed you back in troll. Ahahahaa

tim242

You are a snappy one.

http://zacharyparkes.tumblr.com/ Zachary

You can throw as many specifications you want at Windows 98 but there’s only so far you can go with performance before software is the issue.

ethan smith

Ok douchebag

http://twitter.com/SParKlngCyaNide SparklingCyanide

ie. Lipstick on a pig.

HeatFan786

It worked with the Note 3. The same exact software as the S4 with some more tidbits.

Fel Pe

Oh boy I thought the article would never end. But I guess I survived it… I know it’s personal opinion here and I also know that the day Chris dumps HTC, it will bankrupt immediately (haha). Anyway I always turn all the motion/air/telepathic features off and when comparing my Note 3 with my best friends HTC one my Note 3 is way faster than the One. That’s the whole point of TouchWiz, it has a bunch of useless features that slow the phone down, but it as easy as 3 touches to turn all of them off and make the phone shine (Yup, with TouchWiz)… Also I don’t see what’s the big deal about putting a MicroSd card on the phone, I’ve been doing that since 2006 and I know this is new to htc’s fans but believe me: you can do it, it won’t hurt!!! As far as chrome color goes I agree 100%. I hate chrome, I despise chrome, I painted matte black everything that was chrome in my car… and I do it everywhere that’s possible. As fas as camera…. really? Comparing the S5 with a dedicated Sony camera? What about 4MP anyone? No more comments on here… The USB 3.0 and IPS67 is waaaay worth the (minimal) trouble of the SFlap, I mean, when did we get lazy to the point of getting annoyed by such a small thing? Also I think it’s funny to talk about USB 3.1 when most phones are still using USB 2.0 specially when the S5 is one of the only phones on the mkt that uses USB 3.0. Now, wireless charging to me is very silly and 30 bucks is really not a big deal for it, now how much does a water proof case cost? And the bulk that it adds? Hmm… fingerprint reader is not perfect but at least it is there, different than most phones (once again)… too much touch screen sensitivity? Damn, there’s always a first time for everything, I’m sure there are apps u can adjust the long press timing for the keyboard, now how to change a touch screen that’s not responsible enough? I think the list forgets the main thing that Chris hates on the S5: it has Samsung written on it!!! Lol… anyway I still love this blog!!!

malcmilli

i think you were missing a couple of his points, he wasnt comparing the s5 camera to the sony camera, he was just saying how the camera inside struggles in general. He used a sony camera to show you the real life colors of his room and then how the s5 interpreted the image. The sony camera was just reference to show you how it struggles in certain conditions. So for eveyrone say “4mp sucks” he is simply saying, its not like the gs5 camera is “THAT” much better.

He said time after time the phone was a good phone, but all of the features that were supposedly supposed to set it apart from the pack werent really all that great so its great but its just like all of the other solid flagship phones.

Fel Pe

I got what he did there with the pics and it really is trying waaaay too hard to say bad things about an amazing [smartphone] camera! The USB S Flap comments are also trying too hard to find bad things on the phone, come on, the phone is IPS67 certified and that alone puts it one step above most other phones (specially when specs are extremely comparable and looks and software are subjective matters)… same thing with fingerprint reader, heart rate sensor and USB 3.0… they are all flawed somehow but at least they are PRESENT!

malcmilli

I dont think he is trying too hard to say bad things about the phone, if you look at reviews from other sites a lot of them had the same criticisms. That the camera is great in sunlight and inconsistent everywhere else.

I understand about the weather proofing, its something i desire in a phone myself, but he was stating, that because there is no included wireless charging it is quite annoying dealing with the flap because the flap itself was hard to open. Can there be a water proof phone with a less difficult flap? I guess we’ll find out with the z2 review.

Now the finger print scanner is something else entirely. I’ve read reports of some people the majority of the time having to swipe 2 or 3 times in order to unlock the phone. Now you can say “at least its there,” but that’s not a valid defense. I’ve tried iphone’s n it actually surpassed my expectations.

He also said the phone was a great phone, n this was just him nitpicking n it annoyed him. He bought the phone personally and isnt reviewing some free borrowed device.

Why would someone “Try to find something to dislike” about a phone they bought with their own money?

Fel Pe

Why someone would try to find something to dislike? Well, to write an article about it!! Every one knows that Chris loves HTC and secretly dislikes Samsung (lol, ok now it’s me trying too hard but I’m more likely right than wrong on here)… about the fingerprint reader I still think is easier to swipe a couple times my finger than typing down a whole password. Plus this is something that can be adjusted and perfected with future upgrades. Now can a software upgrade add a fingerprint sensor on a phone that doesn’t have it in the first place? Nope. Don’t get me wrong, if I was to buy a phone right now it’d be a Z2 and not the S5, but this article was just waaaay too forced for me to let it pass without posting my feelings about it.

http://www.android.com/ HyperTallih

:)

malcmilli

lol so he would buy a phone force himself to use it and then pay a non refundable $50 fee just to right an article saying the phone is good but not for him. It really just doesn’t make any sense, especially when a lot of his comments have been said in reviews on other sites. I’ve read many reviews saying the finger print sensor is pretty useless since it rarely works… but some people in the comment sections say it works fine for them. So maybe the sensor is just inconsistent.

Just keep in mind, as much as he loves HTC, the majority (not all of course) of people who have a problem with the article love Samsung more.

I agree on the z2… if ever gets announced for the US, im trying ot get a new phone before i go on vacation in June, but Sony is making it pretty difficult.

Matthew Merrick

That Sony pic looks blurry and unnaturally warm to me, almost looks like a sepia filter

malcmilli

Yeah the blurry part is the focus of the camera, which simulates close to how your eye works. If you hold your finger infront of your face and focus on it everything else will be blurry, keep your finger there and then quickly focus your eye on something across the room like the TV, your finger will be blurry.

I see what you are saying about the colors being too warm, but he is saying that is actually how the room looked in his eyes in person. So if the room was actually that warm, then the picture should be just as warm.

Matthew Merrick

As someone with terrible eyesight, I fully expect my camera to be better than my eyesight, not simulate its shortcomings.

malcmilli

lol fair enough

smithj33

I am about to go back to apple just so I can have a good camera and lag free phone. How do these manufacturers use these in testing and think its acceptable. Its not that difficult. If nokia can do it, anyone can.

Jason Crumbley

You’ll hate it if you do.
I just spent 6 months with a 5s and couldn’t wait to be Jump eligible and go back to Android. While the 5s camera is really good, I couldn’t get used to the loss of everything else.

smithj33

I probably would hate it but the lack of improvement year after year on android is a bit frustrating.

My name is….

Yeah, because android isnt improving every year.

Whatever….

arkard1

No, because Apple is making huge improvement year after year ;-)

My name is….

lol

Dr. Phat

Its not like the GS5 is the only android phone.

smithj33

Which one has a better camera and lag free?

malcmilli

there are a couple that are lag free, but camera wise iphone has em

Matthew Merrick

Xperia Z1/1s/compact/2, LG G2/G2 Pro, S4 GPE, those are just off the top of my head

smithj33

I have an S4 already. Want something better. Xperia Z2 is the one I a most interested it, but it could be 2015 before it drops in the US. Z1s screen is not good and the compact is too small.

Matthew Merrick

Z1s is too small, yet you’re threatening to go to an iPhone. What a troll.

Jerel Butler

Wut

Walkop

Nexus 5.

Software has made it WAY better than it used to be. Functionality wise, its improved greatly due to full-res PhotoSpheres and the new Lens Blur feature. I’m surprised Google improved on what HTC did in hardware with software.

smithj33

I could be wrong, but the camera is weakest feature on the N5.

Walkop

I don’t understand why people keep saying that. It’s incredible in low-light, for one; better than the M7 or iPhone 5S (I’ve seen shots to prove it), probably due to the OIS.

It got a bad rap from pre 4.4.1 software, but ever since then it’s been rock-solid!

Jason Crumbley

And this is why I bought the One M8.

Paul Guy

While I don’t know about the GS5, I know Samsung has made a lot of dumb decisions about phone design in general. My biggest issue is on the GS3 (my phone), where someone thought it would be a great idea to put the power and volume buttons directly across from each other, so if you press one, the phone tries to slide out of your hand unless you hold it on the same spot on the other side, so you end up changing the volume half the time you turn on the screen (or shut off the screen when adjusting volume). The back of the phone is all slippery, and since it is so thin, I always feel like I’m about to drop it (my old Wimax EVO had a rubbery back, it was great). I can’t hardly feel the home button in the dark. It’s like they don’t actually send out their phones into the real world with real people to make sure they work and make sense, it’s all theoretical engineering.

Unrelated, but I wish someone would bring back a hardware button for cameras.

Captain Obvious

YES!!! I can’t figure out why they ever got rid of the camera hardware button in the first place! It just makes sense to have a dedicated camera button… not only does it make faster access to using the camera, for those quick shots, but it makes for a better picture. Pushing a hardware button down (when properly holding your phone sideways to take the pic) makes for much less movement than pushing forward on the screen. I don’t care how careful one tries to take a picture, pushing the screen always causes movement.

http://blog.joshsouzaphotos.com/ joshsouzaphotos

Use voice controls, “shoot , cheese” no movement at all is even better then pushing a button :P … but I do agree with you.

SorinDobrin

The nexus phones use the volume button as a camera shutter button, don’t need an extra button while the camera is on. It works great

Jerel Butler

Sony likes dedicated camera buttons

JY

im not so sure about the camera, elsewhere the s5 camera is great and to be beaten by the nexus I don’t think so

http://www.scottcolbert.com/ ScottColbert

The Nexus certainly beat it, in the example.

Matthew Merrick

I’ve seen camera samples from the moto x that are better than camera samples from the Xperia z1 or LG g2. That doesn’t mean that the moto x is a good camera. It just means someone got lucky with a great shot.

Marcus Ray

I’ve seen camera samples from the HTC One M8 beat the GS5 too. Overall, I think the GS5 takes slightly sharper pics but macros belong to the HTC One from what I’ve seen.

HotInEER

I agree with everything you said above. The chrome bezel killed the deal for me. It was way to distrating since it wraps to the front of the phone. Really bad on the white one, not as bad on the black one, but still, super destracting. Lag, lag, lag, and more lag, unlike the HTC One M8 which just flies, heck most flagship devices do, my G2 has 0 lag, and so does my Moto X. Camera is super inconsistent, and no wireless charging unless you buy a extra $30 case. I think that Samsung raced this device out, and it’s a huge mistake.

Also, the phone should have a minimum of 32GB internal storage, 64 would be perfect.

roberthenderson

I have a Note 3 and have a bad feeling this is going to be my last Samsung. I’m seriously disappointed with the lowlight shooting (great outdoors though). The main issue though is how bad it is not having front facing speakers. When I use the speakerphone when driving, the volume is on max and I still have trouble breathing clearly while working in the front. And if the recorded volume in videos is a little low, you have to play the ‘cup my hand perfectly to get sound’ game. I watch Netflix and YouTube quite often and the vast majority of the time the volume is at 100 percent to even hear decently. How much battery does that waste over front facing speakers? I was shocked that samsung wasn’t at least smart enough to put their single inferior speaker on the front. They actually regressed from N3 design and moved out to the back. I’m definitely anxious to see what well engineered phablets come out so I can replace this one.

Adam Berg

I agree, you pinpointed the two things that should be addressed on the Note 4. But I haven’t found another phone that I rather use – I hate screen buttons and anything below 5.5 inch is just to small if you work on the phone 2-3 hours a day.

ngo93

That lag alone would be enough to put me off of ANY phone. I really don’t understand how Samsung actually allows itself to release something with this much lag.

Jerel Butler

It’s a feature that allows you to keep up with it

Kennon

Ditto, as a long time Samsung user (since the Captivate) the Note 3 will
probably have been my last. I was so pissed off about the locked
bootloader and the lag and the random heat issues I bought an M8 this month and I
am so happy. I had no idea what I was missing. Depending on which part
of the world you live in I think either the M8 or the Z2 are you best
bet this year. At least until we see what’s under the hood on the LG G3
later.

Net Workdood

loved the Captivate…

CGS

Should have bought the M8 ;)

Fel Pe

Should’ve had a V8!!

Net Workdood

Wow, what a dumb article, with whiny complaints that amounted to nothing….

Dr. Phat

first world problems

Matthew Merrick

1) this has been a big concern since the s3, and easily fixable as well. Turn off the gimmicky, sensor intensive features that no one will ever use, aside from “look at what my phone can do” moments.

2) 100% agree

3) yeah that’s annoying.

4) Samsung smartphone cameras have always been hit or miss, but more often than not they take nice shots. I’ve seen camera samples from the moto x that are better than camera samples from the Xperia z1 or LG g2. That doesn’t mean that the moto x is a good camera.

5) they look bad, but I’ve seen worse.

6) while I hate chrome plating with a passion, if you put a case in it you won’t see it. And, honestly, you’re pretty stupid if you don’t put your phone case.

7) agree, completely

8) ….so? Where else would you put it?

Achal Srinivasan

RE: 6. No, you’re not stupid if you don’t put a case on your phone, you’re just careful with it and appreciate the time designers spent on the way the device looks and feels. Then again, in this case, it’s probably like 2-3 hours since this phone is identical to the last three Galaxy devices released…

Matthew Merrick

That’s like saying you don’t have to wear a seat belt if you’re a careful person. Accidents happen.

KapteinStein

More like not wearing a life jacket in a boat. I have had all my phones naked and never had a serious accident. My phone is covered by my travel insurance anyways though so no paranoia without a case

Achal Srinivasan

Even this, someone didn’t intend for you not to use your life vest — I don’t think there’s an accurate parallel to using protection on something that isn’t intended to be used with protection in mind, if that makes sense.

KapteinStein

I probably should wear a life jacket but I’d rather risk it and show of my hairy oiled chest. Much the same with my phone… Or a condom!

jnt

*Points to the line*… and you crossed it…! ;)

Achal Srinivasan

That’s assuming that seat belts are optional… I’m fairly certain that the law doesn’t mandate the use of a case on your phone.

grunt0300

You missed #9. The phone is too damn big!!! If i could palm a basketball, i’d get it. Why not call it what it is…a mini-tablet.

tim242

The M8 is bigger…

Mitchel White

1) pulls out my s5, looks for lag like in your video… non found (Even with a custom launcher)

2) While it is limited, at least they trimmed it down from predecessors. Also it has about the same amount used up as other phones with 16gb. Why does the S5 take so much heat for it? kinda sad. Still, would be nice if carriers actually made 32gb version available

3) Well idk what to say, I don’t have a issue with the sensitivity, but as i play around with it, kinda see where your coming from but just isnt a issue from what i have seen.

4)ya…. this is upsetting, but still.. real camera for when i want great photos.

5) ya there sad but hey, at least the birds are cute, and have you seen the dragon? haha

6) i dont love or hate it

7) I ll take the flap and not worry about the rain. Also at least they offer wireless charging.

8)Sigh… i really hope fingerprint scanners die out on phones. there is just no need. ps. scanner works fine one handed, I slide my thumb sideways without a issue (private mode)

I find it pathetic that it has become essentially ‘cool’ to rip on Samsung now

Mitchel White

9) I think its creepy I can see someone is replying to this while there typing haha

http://www.android.com/ HyperTallih

In 4 what he writed is totally wrong he is defending the HTC one M8 what has 4mp.

malcmilli

its also become ‘cool’ to bash people for not dealing with things you don’t mind dealing with. If you buy something with your own money, you have every right to complain about it.

http://www.jonathonbarton.net Jonathon Barton

Completely Obvious Solution to the Fingerprint Scanner “issue”…

**Register the thumb on your dominant hand**

When you do that, hold the phone in one hand, and swipe that thumbprint over the sensor normally (which, for me is at about a 45* angle).
The phone doesn’t know, and **doesn’t care** if your finger is “straight”, or even which finger(print) you use, so use the one that makes the most sense, in the orientation that makes it most convenient for YOU to use!

Patrick Smithopolis

They should have just copied Apple’s fingerprint scanner instead of implementing an inferior solution.

Anthony McKay

Ya cause Apple wouldn’t figure that one out and sue……..

Sean Royce

Even though Apple didn’t invent the fingerprint scanner.

DYNK

Exactly I can’t believe how dumb thos guy is…finher print scanner has been one of the best things of s5. I registered my scans (all 3 registrations) with how I normally most comfortbalu unlock…..

Mark Washington

That’s right! Take that bad boy back to T-Mobile lol.

Mel Sparrow

Get rid of the s5 and get some medical help aswell, before you self destruct

http://www.android.com/ HyperTallih

Is that not too hard to say? Yes he lies sometimes like that comment of him.

http://about.me/marianneevans Marianne

I completely agree with your tastes and pet peeve areas for criticism. I’m sticking with my htc one for sure.

Has been that way since the s2, why did you think it would change now?

LAG LAG LAG!!!!!!!!

Mitchel White

Still lag free on my s5

Barry D.

My S3 doesn’t lag at all.

Adam Berg

First – you come off like a really biased person – your family advised you not to buy S5 – yeah right!
Touchwiz can be somewhat laggy, but almost always is solved with the second or third update – which is something Samsung should change. But I’m happy with my lag free Note 3 (after the third update).
What about android runtime (Art) can you change to that on the S5 to get rid of the lag?
Did you use the “night vision” mode on the S5?
I have a S5 at work and you can swipe your thumb side wise to unlock – so one-handed is a breeze!

smithj33

The S4 is still laggy after a few updates.

Anfronie

I really like my S5….people can have their opinions but I like it :D

Orlando R Santos

I get that this is your opinion but Damn you complain a lot. Want some cheese with that wine?

Anthony McKay

Damn dude, he even gave you a warning not to read this if you’re just going to get butthurt like a little b!+ch. Just keep your pos Galaxy and pretend this post ever existed.

Orlando R Santos

I remember when I said I have a galaxy…oh wait I didn’t. It’s funny how you look like a tool for even speaking. So you go find a picture of your sister to beat off to and call it a day. K thanks

Anthony McKay

Let’s leave the sisters out of this! My bad for thinking you had and liked the SGSV. You behave like a Samsung fangirl. So kindly eat sh!+ and have a happy easter.

Orlando R Santos

Lmao me thinking someone complains means I’m a fangirl. I’m screwed then cause I think a lot of people complain lol happy Easter this was fun. Gotta do it again sometime lol

Anthony McKay

Anytime bud! I had a good time as well! Peace out keyboard warrior!

z0phi3l

Well considering there was a BIG ASS DISCLAIMER you seem to have missed, yes you come off as a Samsung fangirl, your fault to be honest

phinn

Yea he gave a disclaimer and I agree with all of his points anyway.

phinn

#10 phone is way too big and bulky with too large of a bezel.
#11 not a Moto X or Nexus 5

jnt

OIS on the N5 is going to give it more consistent indoor shots… if the S5 had that, it would be killer.

namesib

DON’T BUY IT THEN.

I understand things that can’t really be anticipated (fingerprint scanner not working as well as it should, for example), but for features that you already knew about (the bezel and wireless charging functionality), there is no excuse. I hate virtual buttons, so I’m not going to buy an M8 and then complain about it.

malcmilli

he didnt buy it to complain about it. He bought it because it had a lot of features he thought he might like. Then realized he no longer wished to hold onto this phone. Are you going to say you have NEVER returned anything you have bought ever? Or ever regretting anything you ever bought?

namesib

I explained in my second paragraph that unanticipated flaws are reasonable, but complaining about aspects known in advance like the design, flap and lack of wireless charging makes no sense.

1) I want a phone with wireless charging
2) *Buys a phone without wireless charging*
3) I HATE THAT THIS PHONE DOESN’T HAVE WIRELESS CHARGING.

“So let me just say, I abhor chrome. I don’t want it near my electronics, I don’t like it on my rims, and I sure as heck can’t stand it on my smartphone.”

I mean, really? WTF?

malcmilli

i understand what you are saying, and you definitely have a point, i just think it was more of a “i think i can deal these things” and then after trying it he is like “who am i kidding, i cant deal with these things” For example, he knows there was a flap, but he didnt know how annoying the flap would be to open. And after being that annoyed about the flap, THEN he wanted wireless charging that’s when he was upset about wireless charging. Not that he just wanted wireless charging from the get go.

Same with internal space, maybe he thought he could handle 16 gb internal, and then after trying it he didnt realize how much wiggle room he actually had to work with pertaining to apps and such. Especially since 16gb on one phone will give you 13gb of storeage (nexus 4) while 16gb on another phone will give you 10 gb of storage. There could be another surprise annoyance.
But i agree with you on the chrome part, he knew it was chrome from the beginning. But like i said, sometimes you buy something going in thinking it doesn’t bother me THAT much, i could get used to it… n then you just never get used to it.

KuntaKinte

I just got mine yesterday and absolutely no lag as mentioned by Chris. I even replicated his video and no lag.

UMA_Fan

Chris, I’m wondering what you would use as your daily driver?

Also how does the HTC One m8 compare? My hesitation is the metal build will chip and scratch overtime when used without the case unlike the build of the S5 which is less prone to wear and tear.

Forget_you

It is pretty much universally known that touchwiz is a bloated laggy piece of crap. Writing for phandroid.com I thought you would know this by now

z0phi3l

He was trying to give them the benefit of doubt, it backfired on him sadly

Pretty much my opinion. Bought one yesterday at&t. 24 hours later it’s factory reset and cleaned up and put back in box. Returning tomorrow morning. Laggy, and pretty messy. I guess I’m spoiled. Did side by tests with my lg optimus g pro. Running cm11. Same apps installed on S5 and the lg. Both have been running apps opened and closed etc.. Then the test started, launched messaging app on both lg won. Back arrowed on both, lg won. Launched Chrome, lg won. I’m outside in 4 pm sunshine. Both screens at max brightness. Lg won by alot. On S5 I went into settings, they have like 5 different display options for brightness/color temp. Nothing came close.

Tojen1981

I have a g pro as well on stock at&t rom. A buddy of mine has the S5 and the g pro was as fast or (or faster) as the S5 about 75% of the time in similar tasks between the two. LG has the best screens, hands down. Now I’m just waiting patiently for kitkat.

Phil_A_Shio

Yep when it comes to displays LG is second to none (G2 owner here), I even have an LG IPS monitor for my comp, the screen is gorgeous.

Martin Lane

Second to none?

Except Samsung, Apple, Sony, oh wait you were serious!

Guest

It’s just my opinion, relax lol.

Also you uh do realise that LG and Samsung make the displays for the other 2?

http://www.DavidPat.com David Pat

Sammy has terrible radios too.

They do make great screens though.

Jay Kresge

Samsung is using the same exact Qualcomm radios as everyone else…

Paul M

just because the chips are the same doesn’t mean they use the same antennae or arranged them the same way on the circuit board

Jay Kresge

He stated that the radios are different. I clarified that they are the same. Let me know if you’re still confused.

Paul M

No confusion on my part. Perhaps I was trying to clarify to David Pat the difference between buying a kit of parts from Qualcomm and actually making a high performing radio?

EarlyMon

Qualcomm modems are the same. Radio transceivers are made by others.

Mark Weaver

Taking HD video with my S5 used up my memory faster than Miley Cyrus used up her innocence.

Phil_A_Shio

Oh snap!

Martin Lane

That’s what the MicroSD slot is for.

Buy a 128GB MicroSD card, or better yet, buy two! :P

Mark Weaver

Taking HD video with my S5 used up all my memory fast

ffolkes

I think the real question is who actually likes the melted blobs that are the stock Android emoji? I really can’t discern what they’re supposed to represent because the details are so tiny when viewed at a normal size.

BustaArmov

The nice thing about being an Android user, is you only have to wait a few weeks for The Next Big Thing.

However, I have mine set to save my photos and HD movies to the mSD card, and the application options let me move most of my applications to my mSD card. So it isn’t exactly useless. Not that I think you should change your mind, it just seems like most people are unaware that you can do that. It doesn’t completely transfer them, but it transfers most of the app components.

Michael Taylor

The note 2 was my last Samsung phone and I absolutely loved it. Last week me and my fiance both had upgrades available so we headed to Verizon. I held the gun metal m8 and was just amazed at how different it felt. After navigating the sense ui for about 2 minutes I was hooked. The sheer speed of the phone and simplicity of the ui trumps anything tw can offer. I couldn’t believe it!

I held the s5 and it really didn’t feel like a worthy upgrade from my note 2 at all. Same ui, same build, and more bloat with more features that I would never use.

Me and my girl both got the m8 and we’re in love with this device! She even switched from her I phone 4s to android for the first time ;). Her main reason? Apple charged 100 dollars from the 16 gig version to the 32 gig iPhone 5. I told her the m8 has expandable storage and already comes with 32 gigs.

http://www.twitter.com/OtisFeelgood1 OtisFeelgood

I upgraded to the M8 from the Note 2 also and haven’t regretted my purchase one bit. The only thing I miss about the Note was the larger screen.

Michael Taylor

Yeah, getting used to the slightly smaller keyboard has been the only hassle for me, but that’s about it. The battery life is also quite astounding, how can a smaller battery running better specs run harder and last longer than the note 2? Simply put, the devs put more work into the software of the phone. I’ll never return to touch wiz. Ever.

HowlJenkins

Good lord, this guy overuses commas like they’re going out of style.

Keith

Yeah, I know what you mean, it’s annoying, why does he do that?

J Cav the Great

to prevent run-on sentences..

bedwa

Honest as I would expect. If Samsung continues, they could become tomorrow’s Nokia or Apple. Formerly at the top, but no longer.

Martin Lane

Nope, you get a pretty warped view from allot of sites, Samsung is doing just fine.

HTC on the other hand are not.

bedwa

That was exactly what people were saying about Apple and Nokia when the S1 was out. Look at the two of them now in comparison to Samsung. The main thing keeping Samsung from going this way is that they are still trying to innovate, but they need to not get too complacent.

Martin Lane

Apple are still doing really well, they have lost some market share but still make more money than anybody else, I would say they are still innovating as much as other manufacturers so not sure where your coming from there.

Nokia pre-Microsoft were not innovative and let down by awful software.

If they jumped onto the Android ship right away they wouldn’t have needed Microsoft, but hindsight is wonderful thing.

bedwa

Hindsight is always 20/20. Software enhancements are the boon and bane of many Android devices in addition to early adopters being some of the most vocal supporters or detractors. A situation like this should not be taken lightly, but should be used to improve the software that was shipped on the device. Elsewise, Sammy will start getting the “Lag King” reputation that they worked SO hard to lose from the S2 forward. (There was the Voodoo Lagfix on the S1 for a reason.)

Martin Lane

The RFS file system was the major culprit behind all the lag on the Galaxy S, why Samsung used it I don’t know.

The Galaxy S2 was pretty responsive, even now it’s pretty good.

bedwa

For those of us that know the technology, certainly was the RFS system. But to the general public, lag is taken as lag. Lag when we know it’s a better file system and the best processor is unacceptable.

MarkC77

meh. I think much of this is just because its become trendy to dislike Samsung.

There is a video of youtube that has a S5 vs an M8 and shows a number of applications being started, conclusion I took is that if the S5 lags, so does the M8, neither phone was head and shoulders over the other, there are also instances that make the M8 look quicker, but in reality it isn’t – for example one test started a browser, the M8 one appeared quicker but wasn’t usable (showed a loading icon), the S5 took longer to appear but was usable right away.

At the end of the day S5 vs M8 vs Z2 etc is personal preference, I do not believe one phone is “better” than the others.

Articles like this one are just to get page counts up on websites and kick off the fanboy wars.

Druter

I agree with MarkC77. Remember these are the authors OPINIONS not facts. Having dealt with sense on the m7 I can tell you if you hate touch wiz you’ll absolutely loathe sense.

xdapao3

OK, you are a fan of non-removable battery, metal useless toys, we get that.. Move on and leave the Galaxy S and Note series to the real knowledgeable powerusers.
My Note II with its latest stock Touchwiz ROM, Nova launcher Prime, several Xposed modules, HDMI adaptor, USB host adaptor, Brodit car mount, 2 additional batteries plus 1 separate battery charger, 64GB microSD, Chromecast, BT mouse and keyboard and (just to get the complete picture) wireless printer+scanner combo, is the best, most useful and most powerful setup in the world (heck, in a pinch it can replace an actual PC!!) save for a Note III based similar one. All the rest is for clueless and/or light users. Period.

yankeesusa

That is so true. My Note 2 is still the best phone I have had. It got even better after rooting and removing bloatware. Only reason I got rid of it was because of google wallet not being supported anymore until it receives kitkat. I’m happy using my new Nexus 5 but I do miss my Note 2. I would get note 3 but even with kitkat it is not google wallet tap and pay compatible.

afazel

So after changing the stock ROM to make the phone perform well, it can actually do the same things any other Android phone can do straight out of the box. Got it.

xdapao3

No other smartphone (Android et al) has the full gamut of HW and SW capabilities the Note series has, they ALL lack something or the other which I do need and do use (let alone “any other” “straight out of the box”… LMAO!!)

TheJunkie

So you are a fan of removable battery plastic junk, we get that too. None of that matters really if it could just have a usable camera. I’m really not asking too much.

xdapao3

Your reply seems to imply that the camera function is all you need or mostly what you need, I NEED and USE pretty much *EVERYTHING* (including the camera).
Metal is slippery, unpleasant to hold (and this one is the only subjective bit), more fragile (scractches and dents easily), usually heavier, and you have to design around its non-radiotransparency i.e. it’s objectively INFERIOR to good quality polycarbonate (rubberized backs are the ideal, to me). Period.
The camera modules on the Note series may not be the best on the market at the relative point in time but they are without a doubt among the best and since the camera is but ONE of the full gamut of HW and SW functionalities of modern smartphones I couldn’ care LESS if other cameras (on overall useless smartphones) are somewhat better.

TheJunkie

Everyone has a different use for the phone. You need to evaluate your own needs.
I almost never use it as a phone. My call volume is 1-5 minutes a month. I use it for weather and some games. I’m sure any free phone can do weather just as well. Games just need decent processor speed and display. What I use it the most is capturing moments in my life and people around me. Those things last forever (ok, may be exaggerating a bit, they last till I either lose them or lose interest in them…but it could be forever).
So, yes, to me, and many other, especially people with kids, that IS the single most important function. And you know kids….you either snap it or you lose it. Waiting for 16 MP camera file to write, you can forget about it.
If the style means nothing to you or you actually prefer the S5 style, congrats, more power to ya.
Of course, if camera is something you never use……ignore that one point Chris raised. Be your own man and make up your own mind.
Enjoy your phone:)

xdapao3

Like I said “I NEED and USE pretty much *EVERYTHING* (including the camera).”

I use the camera *very* often not only to take pics and shoot videos about people, places, moments and whatever else I care about and want to save but also as a mean to quickly capture something for future reference/editing/memo (like a “photo memo” or “photo note”), for OCR purposes, bar and QR codes and more.

The camera is so important to me that I have always appreciated cameras on tablets too and wanted on them the same quality as smartphones’ cameras, even when most people said they didn’t see a use for it and didn’t need it on tablets.

That said: “The camera modules on the Note series may not be the best on the market at the relative point in time but they are without a doubt among the best and since the camera is but ONE of the full gamut of HW and SW functionalities of modern smartphones I couldn’ care LESS if other cameras (on overall useless smartphones) are somewhat better.”

You have a pretty narrow use for smartphones I have a very broad one. The ONE thing I don’t do with it and don’t care about is gaming.

TheJunkie

Oh, I never go without a cover….kids and all….to show off the beauty, I use transparent cover….so it doesn’t matter which phone, they are just as grippy or slippery under the cover.

xdapao3

That’s what most people who rave about scrap metal phones do… instantly put a cover on it.
I myself hate them with a passion and never ever use them. They make the devices heavier and bigger, make accessing the battery, microSD (and often even operating the buttons) less immediate, make it hard or impossible to use car mounts (especially powered dedicated ones) and lastly make them uglier.

hohopig

compared to cheap aluminium junkies that don’t even know that they are buying a product made of materials that are cheaper than many top grade plastic composites? :P

Don’t talk about “premium” until a phone start using high grade steel alloy please.

gmaninvan

As a ‘power’ user the first thing you should have done is flash the gpe rom to remove all the bloat and make the os lighter.

xdapao3

Only an idiot (certainly no poweruser) would flash a whole new (and INFERIOR) ROM instead of simply disabling the features/services he doesn’t use/need (which is what I do).
Vanilla Android lacks a TON of features that Touchwiz ROMs have, just to name a few, and in no particular order: MultiWindow (which ALONE makes Touchwiz worth it), USB host, complete codec support, clipboard management, superior keyboard, superior camera app, quick call/text gestures, a good file manager which works with the microSD (with KitKat) even without root, good integrated basic apps like clock/timer/countdown/timezones and on and on and on… “Some” of these you can add to GPE ROMs with mods and apps but in most cases you wouldn’t get the same results that having these features integrated in the ROM gives you.
I remind you that until recently vanilla Android lacked even quick toggles in the notification shade FFS!! A lot of things that Google has been adding they have taken inspiration from Samsung ROMs which have consistently been the most feature complete out there.

gmaninvan

hahahahaha

“Only an idiot (certainly no poweruser) would flash a whole new (and INFERIOR) ROM instead of simply disabling the features/services he doesn’t use/need (which is what I do)”

I think you are the only person in the world who would call vanilla android inferior to bloated touchwhiz. Well, maybe someone who works for Samsung would agree with you. Yes, you can disable features but the software as a whole is terrible. Look at the lag above. The funniest part is that this “inferior” ROM will likely always be a version ahead of your touchwhiz ROM. This not only brings security patches (that don’t have to go through OEM and carrier approval and take months), they also bring access to new API’s, enabling features that your Touchwhiz ROM isn’t even capable of.

“Vanilla Android lacks a TON of features that Touchwiz ROMs have”

Ok lets go through these. Now I am going to treat this as root since you run Xposed, I know you are rooted so no point in beating around the bush.

– Multiwindow: You can hack this onto a stock ROM if you want but unless you are using a Phablet, it isn’t that beneficial. I think Paranoid androids halo is far more useful.

“USB accessory and host modes are directly supported in Android 3.1 (API level 12) or newer platforms. USB accessory mode is also backported to Android 2.3.4 (API level 10) as an add-on library to support a broader range of devices. Device manufacturers can choose whether or not to include the add-on library on the device’s system image.”

– Codec support: Please, this can be solved with an app. Download VLC, MXPlayer, or use Plex.

– Clipboard Management: I care why? You can also get apps for this.

– Superior Keyboard: Now this one is just funny. The Google Keyboard is waaaaaay better than the garbage Samsung provides. Plus, if you truly are a power user, you should know better than to use the stock keyboard anyways and be using either Swiftkey, Swype, Fleksy, etc.

– Superior Camera App: I guess you haven’t seen the new google camera app hey? Auto HDR+ and Google Maps streetview tech software image depth like a Lytro. If that isn’t good enough for you, Camera 360 will put your stock Samsung camera app to shame as well.

– quick call/text gestures: This is an implementation, not an advantage. Quick canned messaging is integrated into stock android. You can get alternative dialers and messaging apps that have all these features as well. I personally don’t find them that useful anyways.

– File Manager: Yes, everyone knows about Kit Kat’s issues with the SD. However, the file managers available in the play store make Samsung’s look like garbage. And yes, they do work on the SD. Solid Explorer comes to mind. Also, as much as people love them, the SD card really needs to go. It is a nightmare for dev’s. That is why Kit Kat started limiting app access and why a lot of new devices don’t support it. It is way easier to develop for one unified storage.

– clock/timer/countdown/timezones: Well timely alone makes Samsung’s stock offering look like absolute crap. Guess who owns timely, Google. It will likely be in the android L release in some form or another.

“”Some” of these you can add to GPE ROMs with mods and apps but in most cases you wouldn’t get the same results that having these features integrated in the ROM gives you”

Or you could get better results. You also neglect a lot of the really nice things about stock android that isn’t in Samsungs ROM. Things like Photosphere (the samsung implementation isn’t as good), Google maps dialer integration, lock screen widgets, etc. On top of that, you don’t get the terrible UI and horrible tabbed settings.

“I remind you that until recently vanilla Android lacked even quick toggles in the notification shade FFS!! A lot of things that Google has been adding they have taken inspiration from Samsung ROMs which have consistently been the most feature complete out there.”

Now you think that Samsung invented that? That has been in custom ROM’s since Eclair. I also think you could argue that until recently, Sense was far more feature complete than touchwhiz.

StockStalker1

Aftermarket ROMS blow donkey balls. I want something that was developed by a team of people getting paid to do it, not some broken POS that was developed by one guy in his bedroom who thinks he’s god’s gift to the universe because he changed the background of a menu to black. Meanwhile you get 1/3rd the normal battery life, camera won’t work, noise canceling won’t work in calls, but at least bluetooth works half the time.

yankeesusa

Hey chris, its a nice article, but it would be nice if you could respond to some of the comments or questions posted on here for you. Just pick the ones that seem honest questions and not just trying to start a comment battle.

Meeta

I agree with all your points but i am using Samsung galaxy s5 and can say that its nice phone to use, Its cool phone with extraordinary features (Check features here http://www.samsung.com/in/galaxys5/) like bigger display, Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen,4G LTE network, Wi-Fi ac MIMO, NFC, Bluetooth, Micro USB. Its fingerprint scanner to log into PayPal is best thing about this phone.

TheJunkie

He never said it wasn’t a “nice phone to use”;)
It just wasn’t good enough for him to keep when there are better alternatives.

JRomeo

I’m wondering why you are boasting features like 4G, WiFi, NFC, Bluetooth, etcetear…. you do realize those are standard features, right?

eclipsenyou

you obviously don’t realize the 4G, WiFi, NFC and Bluetooth are ALL faster on this device?

JRomeo

4G, WiFi, NFC, and Bluetooth are ALL faster on every high-end phone being released this year….

Martin Lane

Yay, more anti Samsung propaganda!!!

Keeps the predominantly US readers happy, so why not.

TheJunkie

Talk about a fan boy.
S5 is a great phone. Chris is a bit picky….but he is subconsciously comparing it to htc one. I wouldn’t have gone as far as he did. As nice as S5 is, I would have picked up htc one any day as long as they are both available for the same $$.

Martin Lane

Rubbish, the news from this site is very good at identifying any negative points in Samsung products and exaggerating them.

Reason? They get hits!

HTC on the other hand is the underdog, so again defending them by being generally positive will get them hits.

It’s lame, but that’s how it works.

TheJunkie

So even a fan boy agrees the negative points are correctly identified. That’s good to know.

Martin Lane

Galaxy S5 camera is not as good as a stand alone camera costing over £1400? shocking!

Or complaining that the screen is too sensitive? really?

Also features like the fingerprint sensor? Are Samsung forcing users to use this? NO!

There is one valid negative on that list, storage, they need to lose the 16GB version in favour of 32GB and 64GB

Lag in the video is not even lag, it’s a delay when opening the Samsung apps which is probably on purpose, why? no idea it’s been like that since the Galaxy S4. The lag users complain about on the Galaxy S4 was to do with general navigation of the UI which has improved allot with the 4.4.2 update, given the Galaxy S5 is also running 4.4.2 with a faster SoC it shouldn’t be an issue.

gmaninvan

How do you figure? He put up video to back up his points. I would agree that the lag is pretty unacceptable. My Nexus 5 is easy faster than that

hohopig

It looks more to me that it is not so much lag, as there isn’t the jitteriness and jaggedness that usually associated with lag. But looks like Samsung purposely put in a delay timer so that there is a pause before any animation or action is taken. I wonder if there is a way to change this in the developer setting.

gmaninvan

That is one theory but I don’t see why they would bother as there would be no reason to do that and is largely perceived as slow to the user.

I think it is more likely lag. Just because it isn’t jittery doesn’t mean it isn’t lag. It is likely experiencing delays with the OS trying to handle the instructions to open the app. This will be fixed with ART since it won’t be just in time compiling but my guess is that whatever Samsung did to the software slowed down the JIT compiler in the Dalvik Virtual Machine.

beenyweenies

I owned a GS4 and had many similar complaints. The software IS laggy, there is just no getting around that. Even the camera app stuttered and stalled. And speaking of the camera, the GS4 needed full mid-day sun to take a quality photo. Anything less and it was a blurry mess. There is a bunch of really bad engrish throughout the interface, which shows an utter lack of care and attention to detail. The list goes on.

Ralph1001

Remember the GS5 is a PHONE not a Swiss army knife. Want great pictures? Get a Cannon camera.

The 4Mp ultrapixel camera is a very different tech and is actually aided by a second lens. Yes, it is not super high resolution, but it makes up for that in excellent low light performance which is far more useful than the S5’s washed out pictures

Martin Lane

We have seen them compared in low light tests, in some shots it does well but the problem with the camera on the HTC One M8 is that the images look overexposed and there is a lack of contrast in the images.

The HTC One M8 never even won in these low light tests, it did well but that is ONLY area that it did well, if you want washed out images with low contrast and a low resolution it’s the camera for you.

The colour accuracy is also not great, this is also been seen in comparisons where some colours from the M8 look different compared to the Galaxy S5 and Xperia Z2

gmaninvan

I have actually heard that the Kit Kat update came with a software upgrade that did wonders for the Z2’s camera. I think you are right in that this is now the one to beat.

hohopig

which sadly, is NOT always the case. In some scenes on some sites, it surprises me that sometimes the other phones takes better indoor shots and low light shots. From the reviews, it seems that HTC One currently has a tendency to over expose the white balance at times.

eclipsenyou

You obviously haven’t seen CNets camera review of the S5/M8 and iPhone 5S……. Go check it out and get back to me.
The S5 is the best camera on ANY phone I’ve ever owned.

gmaninvan

You do realize that is subjective right? As is my opinion. I think I would have to personally have both in my hand to make an informed opinion. Until then I will leave it.

TheJunkie

Not when some idiot sees a gazillion megapixels it captures……..that’s all they wanted for birthday. The camera is uselsss….don’t care, it’s got the megapixels!!

hohopig

for $700 it is able to use the light efficiently as much as the other camera phone. :P

And don’t be fooled by the writer, especially when he only put up ONE set of pics. Go trow through the other image sites and you will see that most other camera phones has its hit and misses .. and despite what the writer try to imply, S5 CAN and does take great indoor shots. It takes crap shots sometimes of course, just like other phones.

What surprised me was that sometimes, Sony and HTC One takes crap shot when it is low light and indoor too., but in the end it shouldn’t surprise me, cause on auto setting, even DSLR can take horrible shot at times.

eclipsenyou

I agree…..Chris’s camera gripe is BS. Check out CNET’s camera review that pits the S5, the HTC One (m8) and the iPhone 5S.
The S5 won the battle hands down, with the m8 coming in third place. Yeah, one bad picture does not define a camera.

beenyweenies

Samsung phones are renowned for taking miserably poor photos in less-than-perfect light situations, especially with anything moving (in other words, every picture that most average people take).

My S4 couldn’t take a blur-free image in anything less than full outdoor sun. The HTC One M7 and M8 don’t take amazing pictures, but at least they are almost always sufficiently bright and free of motion blur. There’s far fewer “throw-aways.”

I’ve been taking SLR/DSLR pictures for 23 years, and currently own a Canon 7D with about $3,000 worth of glass, so it’s not because I’m a poor photographer with shaky hands.

eclipsenyou

I don’t know where you purchased your S5, but it’s sold for 600 dollars everywhere.

TONY ALDO

Fixed.

archercc

After playing with my coworkers(plural) S4s I dont really get buying a Samsung phone with that skin. Compared to my N4, which wasn’t exactly the best on the market when it came out, the newer S4 was laggy and the interface looked low-res and poorly coded. The phone looked cheap with the screen off and even cheaper with the screen on. Especially that calendar and settings/notification window.

beenyweenies

Their software is the absolute WORST. They suck at software, and all of the super negative reviews of the Galaxy Fit confirm that it’s not just their phone software that blows. I loved how my S4 had engrish all throughout, like they couldn’t even pay ONE GUY who knew english well enough to proof the entire interface and suggest corrections. Sloppy, cheap and lazy.

They really should just abandon their software efforts and go with vanilla Android.

archercc

Id think they would make even more money that way. Both they and Apple have proven that marketing is more important than any features or hardware design (Since the HTC was a superior phone but still couldn’t sell).

Fire your developers and save on that salary, get phones to market more quickly and make an extra few cents on each one. Nobody uses those “innovations” anyway. Of the 9 people I know with S4s they all played with those features for a couple of days, found they were worse than the stock android ones (search, etc) and turned it all off.

shonangreg

Chris:

Great for keeping snooping eyes out of your phone, sure it wasn’t full proof, but it was enough security for most cases.

Thanks for the write up, Chris. I noticed the lag in comparison to the M8 (does anyone call it the One?) this weekend at the AT&T store. Now I just have to figure out if my company will offer the M8 as well as the S5.

http://plus.google.com/+JontyGamao Jonty

for the storage part
did that say 4GB available? was that even the amount of storage it came with?

hohopig

nope. it has around 10GB when freshly unpacked

uniquename72

This will probably get lost among all these comments, but only have 1 question about this phone:

Can you disable the home button on the front without root, or will this phone (like the Galaxy S4) spend half the day accidentally turning on in my pocket, KILLING my battery life?

http://www.android.com/ HyperTallih

…..

jr Fortenberry

Try Gravity Screen in the Play store. It will stop that from happening.

uniquename72

It doesn’t disable the button, but it’s the next best thing – THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

jr Fortenberry

You’re very welcome I hope it helps ya!

http://macbug.de Takeo

No you can’t. But the button is a lot harder to push than on the S3, S4 and Note 3.

Philip

What? You didnt mention anything about the back firing speaker?

Fel Pe

That’d be an argument that I’d accept right away!!

eclipsenyou

You mean like the speakers on 99% of all Android phones?
Cant you find something more original to complain about?

mmm are you serious? I have the S5. Ultra Power Save is like having a 10 year old Nokia – nothing else. So that’s not impressive at all.

RB

I don’t get a couple of your gripes, I have no lag at all, and the fingerprint scanner works fine even with one hand. I used 2 of the spots to scan my thumb and it works 99% of the time.

KenanSadhu

So.. You don’t hate that back cover? THAT back cover, especially in gold?

infogulch

GS5: Bandaid edition.

eclipsenyou

Wow…..so original! Steal sayings much?

Red Beard

Even the Bandaid back cover is better than that ugly ass silver trim. The GS5 is one of the first phones I’ve ever owned that is better looking and better feeling in a case.

hohopig

Nope, especially since the real thing looks nothing like those parody pics. :P
Although admittedly it looks better in white or black .. well these colours are just classic.

And you do know that MANY other well loved device comes with the dimple relief? :P do a search on it and tell me you hate all of them.

lynne

How do you see the keyboard during a call?

MineIsBetterThanYours

I agree on most of that, except the fingerprint scanner. It’s WAY more secure than apple’s. Not that any of us live in James Bond’s world, but the fingerprint lift necessary to fool an iPhone could happen in a club off a glass or possibly even the damn reader ITSELF! Because the WHOLE print is there already. With Samsung’s/IBM/Lenovo version. It has to actually pull it in as a fresh scan every time. Only part of the fingerprint is on that part of the phone. Though, granted lifting a Fingerprint off somewhere else on the phone is probably trivial too.You just can’t do it with a piece of scotch tape and “beat it” LOL

C_Cole

I think you should do your research:
“You take the cleaned print image and without inverting it, print it to transparency film. Next, you take the transparency film and use it to expose some thick copper clad photosensitive PCB board that’s commonly used in amateur electrical projects. After developing the image on the PCB using special chemicals, you put the PCB through a process called ‘etching’ which washes away all of the exposed copper leaving behind a
fingerprint mold.”

That is straight from the iPhone fingerprint scanner hacked article in the NYTimes. I don’t see any everyday person being able to do that.

MineIsBetterThanYours

On a quick Google, there are other ways MUCH easier than that. Perhaps more than some scotch tape, but not by much ;)

Kludgy? Well to each your own, but to me, I take having to slide the finger over having an ugly big ass home button.

Devin McBride

You dislike the circle that takes up no more space than the current S5 select button? How does it feel using the scanner with one hand? It’s nearly impossible, and that’s what I mean by kludgy.

I found the iOS implementation degraded overtime. I did get it working pretty well if I trained my thumb from different angles on multiple fingers within the software. However, I ended up just not using it. I’ll give scanners another shot once they mature in phone implementations a bit more.

Have moved onto an m8 since and haven’t looked back. Really fast, doesn’t feel like plastic, and looks great.

hohopig

That is the WAY they did that. But in the end it is just a finger print mold and it can be done any other way.

In the end, iFruity’s hyped up version is just as insecure/secure as the one on S5.

Red Beard

Touch screen oversensitivity is the #1 problem with this phone. Nothing is even close. Even the capacitive buttons are ridiculously oversensitive. To the point where I can have my finger on the SIDE of the phone (with a case on the phone) and it will still register somehow.

eclipsenyou

Funny how everytime a new device comes out, people find the littlest things to rag on.
It’s just the nature of the beast I guess.
I can understand your “opinions”, but your “lag” and “camera” comments are WAY off. There is NO lag on this phone, and my camera has performed flawlessly, even in dim lighting. (settings perhaps) but hey, to each their own. That’s why there are hundreds of Android phones to choose from.
Good luck with your HTC One m8… now THAT is a piece of crap.

beenyweenies

I’ve had a hard time finding positive reviews of ANY Samsung products lately.

Either it’s a grand conspiracy waged by every respected technology blog and magazine in the industry (highly likely) or it really is just true that Samsung puts out a poorly made product with really crap software (totally NOT likely).

Freddie Olivas-Resendez

To be honest, I also own a Galaxy S5 and I don’t experience any lag with TouchWiz because I changed the window and transition animation scales to 0.5x. In order for the camera to work at its fullest potential, you must set it according to the surrounding environment, a very simple step in the settlings. The first example you had a problem with could have easily been corrected by the HDR setting. That button is actually located as a standalone option at the top of the frame. Besides these simple workarounds and the chrome trim, which I do like as it reminds me of automotive design implantations, I do agree with the other gripes, especially the problem with wireless charging and the fingerprint scanner ergonomics.

UncleBoarder

I have a half second rule. If I click something and have to wait more than half a second, I’m aggravated. Actually a half second is too long but I’m being generous. There is no reason for delay with today’s high speed processors except that users accept it. Why should companies invest resources in optimizing code if users don’t complain.

Because of your comments I will be purchasing the M8.

THANK-YOU for complaining. Lag is unacceptable.

http://twitter.com/gamercore Chris Chavez

*tips hat*

David Bachechi

Nothing about the help tips that can’t be disabled? Those stupid annoying pop-ups that come up when you press a button or unplug the USB charging cord?

Anthony Johnson

Well I don’t find anything wrong in my Galaxy S5 which makes me annoying. No Smartphone is perfect as there might be some drawbacks in every Smartphone device whether I talk about Nexus 5 or HTC M8. Yes I agree with you at one point that it is little annoying to remove that flap frequently for charging the device and to get rid of it need to spend some extra to purchase qi wireless charger with receiver. But that’s one time investment and lifetime convenience. Other than that I couldn’t find anything wrong in my 1 week old Galaxy S5 device.